A Pastor in The Northwest

(wikipedia photo of a sculpture of St George by Donatello) It's Monday today, and, on the Christian liturgical calendar, it's the feast of St. George in the second week of Eastertide. I realized that I don't actually know who this George person was nor do I know what Eastertide means, so, I did some homework to find out. You are so welcome... St. George is, according to Britannica, the patron saint of England. Apparently, this George was a Christian Roman soldier in the third century who was killed by the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian. Sad story really... Now to Eastertide which is simply the time from Easter Sunday through to the celebration of Pentecost - a span of 50 days. Its the extended celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. So, in continuing in resurrection mode, how is Christ's resurrection remaking you today? Maybe we can pray together, "Lord Jesus Christ, continue to transform and remake us into your likeness more and ...

I was thinking about the breaking of bread and the wine/grape juice that we eat as part of our corporate worship gatherings and how important it is for us as a church family. It is really one of my most treasured moments every time we get together! Then I read this today: Jesus did not save us at a safe distance, as if by remote control. He threw Himself into our salvation with wholehearted abandon...Jesus sealed our new covenant hope by His very blood. He did not hold back at all...and in addition, our risen Savior, through His Spirit, visits us in Holy Communion with real-time experiences of His endless grace. By calling us to eat and drink, He is saying, "My dying love for you is so real you can taste it! Come. Take it in. Be renewed." So, "Do this in remembrance of me" invites us there. Why hold back at all? He didn't. And He doesn't." -Ray Ortlund Whoa!  Some pretty powerful statements of truth in this quote right? By faith in Messiah Jesus, we hav...

A week before Jesus' final Passover meal shared with His friends and followers, he was eating a meal with his friend Lazarus in Bethany. His sisters were Mary and Martha as you might already know. One of them, Mary, did something extravagant and maybe a little scandalous (thanks to John for recording her name in John 12). What was it? Mary took some expensive perfume (like a year's salary worth!) and poured it on Jesus' feet (and likely His head) and then wiped His feet with her hair - whoa! This was recorded by Matthew (26) and Mark (14) as well - why? I'm sure it was a story too powerful for them not to share, right? Not everyone was happy - typical. No good deed goes...well, you know... Anyway, Mary's work of love and devotion to Jesus is awe-inspiring and well, just plain extravagant! She sacrifices clearly one of her most precious possessions and uses her hair, another of her special possessions to do something BIG for Messiah Jesus, Her Lord. Then, in just a...

Last week I did a thing...I said the invocation to open an Oregon Senate Legislative Session. Cool right? I'd never done anything like that before and it was fascinating. One of the senator's admins reached out to me a month ago and I said I'd be honored to pray and submitted my prayer which had to be 2 minutes or less. I think it ended up being about a minute and a half. Truth be told I was a little nervous. Would you be? The session, so I was told, was to start promptly at 11am. So I stood up when signaled, and, well, as it turns out, senators are not on time (just like us church folks)! Why did I agree to do this? Well, beyond just curiosity, I also wanted to honor Paul's call for the church recorded in 1 Timothy 2:1-3: ...I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is ple...

I read this the other day and have been thinking about it a bit: Character isn't developed like heating up a quick dish in the microwave; it requires the slow cooker of life that sometimes doesn't even look like it's cooking. -Dan Hyun Character building - growing wiser, stronger and more resilient - these are good things I think we all want to develop right? Someone once said that "talent and ability might get you in the room, character keeps you in the room." In the letter of Paul to the church in ancient Rome, he wrote this: 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Ro 5:3–5). (2016). Crossway Bibles. So suffering builds endurance, and endurance builds and develops cha...

Today I've been thinking about a phrase I read recently related to being in the moment. The specific phrase was this: "Practice paying attention" I've struggled with this, actually—to keep 'in the moment I'm in.' Being present has been a challenge for me. Is anyone else out there? In His sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus taught us to pay attention to what's around us in the natural world and to keep focused on the day we're living - not stuck in the past or worried about the future. He summed it up at the end of Matthew 6 with: So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. Lord, help us to be present and to notice the beauty and wonder of every day - especially today! Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

I read this quote the other day and I've been thinking about it ever since: “If you’re feeling creative, do the errands tomorrow. If you’re fit and healthy, take a day to go surfing. When inspiration strikes, write it down. The calendar belongs to everyone else. Their schedule isn’t your schedule unless it helps you get where you’re going.” ​— Seth Godin We will never know what's around the bend so they say, and we have no guarantees about tomorrow so in the present moment, I want to get better at noticing the opportunities! What opportunities await me today? So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. -Matthew 6:34 NLT Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash